2016 College Football Preview Part 2

                                                 Big 12

            Now on to the so-called “Power 5”. The Big 12 is the only one without a conference championship game and is looking to add a couple more teams so they don’t get shut out of the playoffs all the time. There still are a few contenders in this league, even though there is no defense played whatsoever. 90% of Big 12 games have overs that you won’t see in any other league. Texas Tech vs Baylor, over 90? Take the over. (Pretty much any game involving Texas Tech, the over is a safe bet. ).  This does make for some entertaining games. Oklahoma and TCU are the two teams everyone has at the top this year, for good reason. Oklahoma is coming off a playoff appearance. They’re ranked 3^rd to start the year, they return Heisman contender Baker Mayfield and the asshole who broke Melvin Gordon’s record after 1 week, Semaje Perine.  While I can definitely see them winning the conference, I don’t see them as a playoff team. A pretty tough nonconference schedule includes Houston and Ohio State, and I think they’ll lose at least once in conference.

            The Trevone Boykin era is over in TCU and Kenny Trill/Hill is expected to take over at QB. The Horned Frogs should have one of the better defenses in the Big 12 (which isn’t saying much) and have a more favorable schedule then Oklahoma. Outside of the top 2, there’s a cluster of teams that are really tough to rank. Baylor just went through a shitstorm this offseason, lost a bunch of recruits and have new coach. They still return talent in QB Seth Russell and RB Shock Linwood, amongst others and should still finish in the top half of the conference. I think an improved Texas team in Charlie Strong’s 3^rd season and Oklahoma State will round out the top half of this conference. The only teams in this conference I don’t see making bowl games are Iowa State and of course, Kansas. The most interesting thing about Kansas this year will be seeing if they hit the over for wins, which Vegas set at 1.5 after they went winless last year. They should beat FCS Rhode Island in week 1, but if they don’t beat Ohio (a bowl team last year) in week 2, that 2^nd win is gonna be tough to find.

The Pick: Despite TCU having a more favorable schedule, I still like Oklahoma to win the conference. October 1^st is when Oklahoma and TCU meet, and that game will probably be the one that decides this conference in the end.

                                                Pac-12

            The Pac-12 is one of my favorite conferences in college football. I don’t really like any specific team so much, I mainly like the Pac -12 because it brings us #Pac12AfterDark.  Just when you think the day of college football should be over, the Pac 12 brings us one more game that will usually go until about 1 or 2 am. For the degenerate gambler, if you had a bad day, it’s glory’s last shot. While the Pac-12 does provide plenty of shoot-outs, most defenses are better than those found in the Big 12, making the over/unders a little tougher to call.

            This year in the Pac-12 is going to be interesting. I only really see one team-Stanford as a true playoff contender, although their schedule to start is pretty brutal. Stanford has a game they should win, but won’t be easy in week 1 vs. Kansas State. After that, the schedule really doesn’t let up until Oct. 22 against Colorado. After getting through that tough early stretch, they’ll also have  a trip to Oregon waiting for them in November. Despite the schedule, Stanford is still the favorite because they have Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey put up ridiculous numbers last year and should make a return trip to NYC as a Heisman finalist this year.

            Oregon had a bit of a down year last year and after the Vernon Adams experiment last year are bringing in another FCS transfer QB.  The defense struggled last year, blew a huge lead against TCU in the Alamo Bowl, and now bring in Brady Hoke to be the savior at defensive coordinator. I’m not sure I see that going well, however maybe Hoke is better suited at coordinator.  A lot of people are high on Washington this year. There’s also a lot of people who are  high in Washington this year. They get a slight boost because of a really weak non-conference schedule (Rutgers, Idaho, Portland State) and did play pretty good defense last year. They ended up 7-6, which it seems like they are almost every year. I’ll bump them up to 9-3 but I still don’t see them making the Rose Bowl or even winning their division. One sleeper team I do like is Washington State. They won 9 games last year-while the schedule might make that tough to repeat, they’ll be a tough out. The Cougars will throw the ball 50 times a game like a typical Mike Leach team, and have a really good QB returning in Luke Falk.  I also am going to enjoy watching Gary Andersen and Oregon State go 3-9 this year.

            I see the South division being a 3-team race between UCLA, USC, and Utah. UCLA has sophomore Josh Rosen at QB, who a lot of people project to be a high draft pick when he enters. USC has lot of talent, (as always) including JuJu Smith-Schuster and Adoree Jackson but I think they’ll disappoint as usual. Utah will be strong on the offensive and defensive lines but is replacing a lot at the skill positions.

My pick: Stanford over UCLA in the championship game. Stanford has Christian McCaffrey, these other teams don’t.

                                                ACC

            This is going to be a 2-team race, and the two teams in the race happen to play in the same division. Oct. 29 is when Clemson travels to Florida State. This game will decide the conference. I really don’t see anyone else as a real threat to either of these teams. Clemson returns their backfield of Deshaun Watson (likely the Heisman favorite) and Wayne Gallman. Dalvin Cook is back at RB for Florida State, but they will likely be starting a freshman at QB in Deondre Francois. I’ve noticed people saying that this could be the first league to get two teams in the playoff, but I’m not buying it. There would really need to be a lot to happen before the committee would even consider that, and I don’t think the ACC is a strong enough conference to boost a resume of a division runner-up. As far as a sleeper team, Louisville is one to watch but they happen to play in the same division as FSU and Clemson.

            Whoever wins the other division is going to be a heavy underdog in the ACC championship game. North Carolina is a popular pick, but they’re gonna have to replace Marquise Williams at QB, who will be playing his final game with the Packers this week. I’ll go with Pittsburgh to win the coastal. Even though they are a perennial 6-6 team, I think they’ll ride the momentum of RB James Conner beating cancer and Pat Narduzzi is a really good coach.

My pick: Clemson over Pitt. This will be the year of Deshaun Watson (even though last year kinda was already).

                                                            SEC

            On to the SEC. I could make a bunch of jokes about how their fanbase is a bunch of  inbred, unintelligent hillbillies , but I’ll stay away from that so I don’t disrespect the 20% of their fanbase that aren’t.  The SEC does play pretty good football. The 2:30 game on CBS is usually a must-see game. For as good as the SEC is (primarily the west division), it’s getting a little tiring seeing Alabama win it every year. They’re the favorite again this year, ranked #1 in the country to start the season. They lose a lot from last year including Heisman winner Derrick Henry, but they just reload under Nick Saban. The only time in his life that he’s smiled is when he won the National Championship last year. Here’s what’s gonna happen: Alabama will lose a game in the first half of the year (likely to Ole Miss), slip in the rankings a little bit, and then they’ll beat LSU, run the table through the regular season, beat an overmatched SEC east division team in the conference championship, and wind up in the playoff. If that doesn’t happen I’ll be shocked. As for the rest of the conference, LSU is ranked highly to start the year. They’ve got one of the best NFL RB prospects in a long time in Leonard Fournette carrying the offense. And he will have to carry the offense, because ever since the great Matt Flynn left Baton Rouge, LSU’s quarterback play has been brutal and I don’t see it getting much better this season. It doesn’t help their playoff chances having to open up their season at Lambeau against a 4-star gunslinger like Bart Houston and Wisconsin.

            Ole Miss does have the best QB in the conference in Chad Kelly, they have an outside shot as well. They get Alabama at home this year on Sept. 17. Texas A&M is another sleeper. They’ll be lead by Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight at QB (who lit up Alabama in the Sugar Bowl a few years ago) and one of the best defensive players in the country in Myles Garrett.

            As far as the east division goes, Tennessee is the favorite, but by default. This division just isn’t that good. There’s a few new coaches in Kirby Smart at Georgia and Will Muschamp at South Carolina. I don’t think they’ll contend this year. Florida has a great defense but has no offense. At least for them, Treon Harris transferred so the quarterback play can’t possibly be worse than it was last year.  I feel like every August I hear that Tennessee is ready to make the next step, and they finish right around 8-4 or 7-5.  This year I think they’ll be better than that (in large part because of a weak division). Josh Dobbs and Jalen Hurd should be one of the best backfields in the country this year.

My Pick: Alabama over Tennessee in the championship game.  I’d love to see it be somebody else, but it’s just not smart to bet against Saban.

                                      Big Ten

            Now, finally we get to the best conference in college football. This conference is what football is all about. The heartland of America (I still don’t consider Maryland and Rutgers real Big Ten teams). History. Tradition. The original college football conference. Fans who get up to tailgate at the crack of dawn for 11 AM games because TV networks don’t think 10-6 defensive struggles are worthy of prime-time television. This is America. The experts had been down on the Big Ten for a while, but it is back and it is strong this year. This year the “experts” seem to be split on Ohio State and Michigan as the favorite. JT Barrett takes full control of the Ohio offense this year now that Cardale Jones doesn’t have to play school anymore. They do replace a lot of starters from last year’s team, but they’re similar to Alabama in how they don’t really rebuild, they reload. They also steal recruits. If Antonio Williams (4-star RB who decommitted from Wisconsin, now at Ohio State) gets any touches this year at Camp Randall an Oct. 15^th , I can’t wait to hear how loud those boos will be.

            Michigan will have one of the best defenses in the country, led by Jabrill Peppers. Harbaugh hasn’t publicly named his starting QB yet, however that probably won’t matter. He can seem to coach anybody up to be a serviceable starter. The magic he worked with Jake Rudock last year was pretty amazing, considering that Rudock was a pretty shitty QB at Iowa before 2015. Michigan State is pretty much the consensus #3 pick in the East. They’ll have a strong defense as always, but the offense will be the question mark this year. Connor Cook is finally gone so the QB job now falls to Tyler O’Conner, who did see some time last year when Cook was hurt. One thing in MSU’s favor is they have an extremely favorable home schedule in conference. Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan, and Ohio State all have to travel to East Lansing (my least favorite place in the Big Ten, btw). Penn State couldn’t find a way to contend with Christian Hackenberg at QB (they couldn’t protect him), and I don’t see them really contending this year either. Saquon Barkley will be one of the better RBs in the conference, but that’s not enough to compete with Ohio State or Michigan in this division. I think Indiana has another 6-6 year in them, and like last year they will make some games with ranked teams interesting because of their offense. Maryland and Rutgers aren’t real Big Ten teams so that is all I’m going to say about them.

            The West division is wide open. The media’s favorite is Iowa. They do return several starters from last year’s team that got embarrassed at the Rose Bowl last year, including QB CJ Beathard and CB Desmond King. Luckily for them, Christian McCaffrey  doesn’t play in the Big Ten. They’ll have a good record this year with the help of a weak non-conference schedule. (Toughest opponent is actually North Dakota State, 5-time defending FCS champs). Nebraska is entering the 2^nd year of the Mike Riley era. They should be improved because I don’t think it’s possible to lose as many games via hail marys/crazy finishes the way they did last year. Tommy Armstrong is back but I don’t think he’s consistent enough to take this team to the next level. One game I’m really looking forward to is when the Huskers travel to Madison on Oct. 29^th. Already have Russell Wilson spoiling their Big Ten Debut, put up a 70-spot on them in the Big Ten Championship, Melvin Gordon breaking the single game rushing record in 3 quarters, and our fat kicker’s redemption kick last year. Can’t wait to see what the next chapter is in the battle for the Freedom Trophy.

            Northwestern was a strange team last year. They beat Stanford in the opener last year on their way to a 10-win season (should’ve been 9, Jazz Peavy caught that pass). They didn’t really look all that impressive but won games with defense and RB Justin Jackson, one of the better backs in the conference. They’ll play teams tough this year, but their wins will decrease. They have to travel to Iowa, Michigan State, and Ohio State this year. Minnesota will probably be a 6-6 or 7-5 bowl team this year, but that’s about it, because they’re Minnesota. That’s their ceiling. (Herbstreit picked them to win the division this year, which is crazy).They do have a little bit of stability at QB as Mitch Leidner returns this season. Illinois might actually be relevant now because of Lovie Smith, but it’ll likely be a few years before they’re actually competitive. It’ll also be nice as a fan to beat Lovie Smith annually again. For Purdue, this is likely the last shot for coach Darrell Hazell to make the Boilers competitive. He’s what the folks in the journalism biz call “on the hot seat”. West Lafayette is a tough place to win, but it can be done. Things were actually going pretty well for Purdue up until Scott Starks scooped up Kyle Orton’s fumble and took it to the house. But…that was about 12 years ago.

            Of course I had to save the best for last. The Wisconsin Badgers. All everyone has talked about this offseason is the schedule. It’s brutal. Opening up with LSU, and then starting conference play with Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Iowa, Nebraska, and Northwestern is probably the toughest stretch I’ve ever seen in the Big Ten. I included Northwestern because the game is in Evanston and the Badgers never win there, so I’ve chalked that one up as a loss. Bart Houston is the week 1 starter, and we’ll see how long that lasts. He played OK (not great by any means) against Illinois last year. This year he gets thrown right into the fire against LSU, but if anybody can do it, it’s a quarterback named Bart at Lambeau. Another brutal part of the opener is that last year’s DC Dave Aranda is now running the defense at LSU. I’d assume he knows the Badger offense pretty well, hopefully Paul Chryst has been working on some new tricks in the offseason. The running game last year was the worst I can remember seeing for a Wisconsin team. It should be better this year with a healthy Corey Clement. Receiver hasn’t been a real strong part of Wisconsin offenses lately, and now it’s time for Rob Wheelwright and Jazz Peavy to step up into bigger roles this year. They did show flashes of potential last year, now they’ll have to do it consistently. One thing I’m interested to see is if any freshman WRs see the field. WR Coach Ted Gilmore has apparently said they “hit the jackpot” with this year’s new receivers.  I expect to see some improvement from the offensive line this year, although Dan Voltz having to retire early because of injury will hurt. Their best lineman this year might end up being Ryan Ramczyk, a transfer from UW-Stevens Point.

            On the defensive side, the front seven should be strong, led by Vince Biegel, Jack Cichy and Chris Orr at linebacker. The question marks are in the secondary, especially at safety. D’Cota Dixon and Leo Musso have been inconsistent when given playing time in the past will have to improve now that they’re gonna be the regular starters.

           

My Big Ten Pick: Michigan over Wisconsin in Indy. I think this is the year Harbaugh lifts Michigan back to the top of the conference. The only reason I have the Badgers making it to Indy is I listen to way too much ESPN Madison radio and the former Badgers on those shows have me convinced that this is going to be a great team, despite the brutal schedule.

My Final Four: Clemson, Michigan, Stanford, Alabama

Championship: Clemson over Stanford

                                                Week 1 Picks

Wisconsin (+11) over LSU- Badgers can keep it within 10 with the help of the Lambeau crowd.

Houston (+11.5) over Oklahoma-This is going to be a 1-score game.

Alabama (-11.5) over USC-I think USC is overrated, Alabama should win this easily

Fresno State (+28) over Nebraska-there’s no way Nebraska is 28 points better than an FBS team in week 1.

Bones Guarantee of the Week (The pick I like that’s definitely gonna be wrong)

Louisiana-Lafayette (+20) over Boise State- I like this because the Ragin Cajuns are at home and the game kicks at 11 am. Kinda reminds me of last year’s Stanford-Northwestern week 1 game, making a team from the west play early. I always think ULL is a solid team,  (Probably because they used to play well in the New Orleans Bowl like every year)even though they went 4-8 last year. But…since it’s a Bones Guarantee Boise will end up covering easily.

2016 College Football Preview-Part 1

                 

            The best time of the year is finally here as college football season kicks off for real this week. There’s several ways to enjoy college football season. There’s a million games on tv every Saturday. You can tailgate or go to games. It’s also a time where it’s acceptable to spend the entire day at a bar. Lastly, it’s one of the greatest sports for degenerate gamblers. Throw some money down and you’ve got a full day of entertainment. To get ready for this season, I wrote up a preview of every conference (some more in-depth than others). Enjoy, and happy Football Eve.

                                      Sun Belt

I’ll be honest-unless a Sun Belt team is playing against Wisconsin (Georgia State this year), I usually won’t watch any Sun Belt football until the kickoff of the New Orleans Bowl (for some strange reason, usually one of the better bowl games). This year, it looks like the Sun Belt took a page out of MACtion’s playbook and is gonna have a few Wednesday games on ESPN this year so I might actually catch some regular season Sun Belt.

The Pick: I’ll go with Appalachian State. Finished 11-2 last year, solid program that owns a win over Michigan like 10 years ago.

Also keep an eye on: Georgia Southern and Arkansas State. Georgia Southern runs a traditional option offense and scores a lot of points. I bet against them in bowl season last year and lost.

                                    MACtion

One of my favorite things every year is when November rolls around and MAC football is on ESPN on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Nothing better to get you through the week than a 51-45 shootout on a cold November Tuesday in Dekalb, Illinois in a 3-quarters empty stadium.

As a Midwest guy, I’ll always appreciate the MAC. There may not be a lot of defense played in this conference but you got to give these guys credit for willingly going to play in places like Akron, Toledo, and Muncie. And the ultimate goal is a trip to Detroit at the end of the year. Gotta love it.

The Pick: I see a bit of a changing of the guard this year. The NIU Huskies have typically been top dogs of the conference, but I see them taking a step back. They did not look good in the MAC championship and their bowl game (even though they were down to their 5^th string QB, no excuses). I like Western Michigan this year. Their coach, PJ Fleck has recruited pretty well for a MAC school. He wears a shirt and tie every game so he’s a guy that means business. They return a senior QB and have a solid ground game led by Jarvion Franklin. I’ll take them to hoist the prized MAC championship trophy in Detroit after beating Bowling Green, who is my pick to win the east division.

                                                Conference USA

            This is a weird conference. I feel like the majority of these teams either weren’t D-1 or didn’t have a football program before the year 2000. Not much history here, except for Southern Miss, which produced the greatest gunslinger of all time, Brett Favre. I also feel like I never see any of these teams on TV. Not sure which channel they hide these games on. This is definitely the conference that got hit the hardest by all the realignment. Used to be a pretty solid football/basketball conference, kinda sad to see what it’s left with.

My pick: I honestly don’t know much about this league anymore. What I do know: Western Kentucky can score with just about anybody (except for their week 2 matchup with Alabama, which probably won’t go well). They actually finished last year ranked in the Top 25, and as long as they find an adequate replacement for graduated QB Brandon Doughty, I think they’ll repeat as C-USA champs this year. They’ll beat Southern Miss in a rematch of last years title game.

                                                Mountain West

            Now we finally get to a league which has a couple of contenders for that “Group of 5” spot in the New Year’s bowls. If either Boise State or San Diego State can get past through their non-conference slates unscathed, they’ll be in prime position for one of those slots. I like San Diego State’s odds a little better. Their toughest non-conference game is at home against Cal, who is likely in rebuilding mode. Boise’s toughest game is at home, but it’s against a pretty good Washington State team that returns QB Luke Falk.

That being said, while Boise and SDSU are my picks to reach the title game, it won’t be a cakewalk through the conference. Air Force and the triple option always make for a tough game, and they’re coming off an appearance in the MWC championship game last season. Former Notre Dame coach and ESPN announcer Bob Davie has New Mexico looking to improve on their bowl appearance last year. The Utah State Aggies should be tough as well even though I think Chuckie Keeton finally graduated after 7 years at quarterback.

My pick: I’ll take San Diego State over Boise State. SDSU is actually ranked 25^th to start the year, they have a favorable schedule and have one of the best running backs in the country in Donnell Pumphrey.

                                    American Athletic Conference

          There’s one team everybody’s got their eye on in this league this year-Houston. QB Greg Ward Jr. returns to the team that beat Florida State in the Peach Bowl last year and is the odds-on favorite for the Group of Five spot in the New Years bowls. The question is-can Houston crash the playoff if they run the table? They have the schedule which may give them a chance. It starts week 1 against #3 Oklahoma. They also play Louisville out of conference in November. In addition to winning those games, they’ll need the rest of the conference to look strong. Memphis and Navy had good seasons last year, but are breaking in new quarterbacks. I think Navy will have the lesser drop-off of the two, but replacing Keenan Reynolds won’t be easy.

Temple made some noise last year, beating Penn State and playing Notre Dame down to the wire. They’re a solid defensive team. They won’t play Houston this year, unless they meet in the conference title game. I actually like South Florida to win the East division. The Bulls have a strong running game (QB Quinton Flowers actually ran for over 1000 yards last year). They host Florida State Sept. 24-I don’t think they’ll beat the Seminoles but it’ll be closer than people expect.  I also can’t talk about the AAC without mentioning UConn, who has the most insane coach in college football. Bob Diaco literally thinks they’ll win a national championship. The best thing he’s done is create a rivalry game, trophy and everything (without the acknowledgement of the other school). UConn and UCF have almost no history against each other, but Diaco went ahead, had a trophy made and decided this game will now be known as the Civil ConFLiCT. Can’t make this shit up. I think UCF could care less.

The pick: Houston over USF in the title game. I don’t see Houston running the table. I think their playoff hopes will die week 1 against Oklahoma, but it will be a close game. I do, however like them to earn the spot in a New Years bowl (Likely the Cotton Bowl). 

Part 2 featuring the Power 5 Conferences will drop either tomorrow or Friday. 

Final Four Recap

It's been a while since I've posted a blog but since I just got to experience the greatest season in Badgers history I thought I'd get back at it. This past weekend I was in Indy for one of the most anticipated Final Fours in history, and it was an awesome experience (until the last few minutes of the game Monday night, but I'll get to that later.)
Watching the Badgers knock off Kentucky on the biggest stage, the Final Four, was unbelievable. Quite possibly the biggest win in Badger sports history. Sending Big Blue Nation back home early was extremely satisfying after they assumed they would take over Indy for the weekend. It was an extremely stressful game to watch throughout, but it was great that the Badgers didn't let it come down to one possession at the end. They took control late and made their free throws. Solid games from Kaminsky and Dekker helped.
After all that it took just to beat Kentucky, they still had to face Duke on Monday. The Badgers played decent for most of the game, and even took control with a 9 point lead. But after that point, things just wouldn't go right. Shots weren't falling, they weren't getting calls, and Tyus Jones wouldn't miss a shot. They just didn't have enough to get it done, and that was disappointing. Us Badger fans have been waiting to celebrate a national championship, and this was probably our best opportunity for the forseeable future. Also, Duke doesn't need another national championship. Their fans that I saw in the stadium didn't even seem all that excited about winning it. Had the Badgers won? We would've drank Indy out of booze on Monday night.
That being said, if there's any silver lining, in the long run this Final Four and tournament will be remembered A LOT more for Wisconsin beating Kentucky rather than for Duke winning the championship. That was definitely a moment that will go down in history. The Badgers also had, in my opinion, one of the toughest roads a team has ever had to face in the tournament: Coastal Carolina (shouldn't have been a 16 seed, they could really shoot), Oregon, a solid 8 seed, then a talented North Carolina team, followed by Arizona (the team who many thought had the best chance to beat Kentucky, easily could've been a 1 seed), and then of course next was Kentucky, who everyone was claiming could possibly beat an NBA team. The Badgers made it through all of them. And ended up meeting up with Duke in the finals, just came up 5 points short. I'd say that's a pretty damn impressive run.
It might be a while before we see another Badger team like this one. Of course I expect them to finish no worse than 4th in the B1G,as they've always done under Bo Ryan, but there's likely gonna be some rebuilding next year. Sam Dekker is gonna go to the NBA, so it'll be up to Nigel and Bronson to step up next year. Also 2 years ago, no one would've expected Frank Kaminsky was going to end up being the national player of the year. There's definitely someone on the bench who will become a star, we'll just have to wait and see who it ends up being.

Also, this was the first time I've ever been to a Final Four, but I'm not sure if there's a better city than Indy to host it. The way things are, this event has to be held at an indoor football stadium, which narrows it down to only a few cities that can host it. Most of these giant football domes seem like they're set outside of downtown or far away from the city. Lucas Oil Stadium is right downtown, which made for an awesome weekend. Bars were a short walk away,  which made it easy and convenient to pregame or celebrate after beating Kentucky. The Convention Center which hosted the Fanfest was right across the street from the stadium. There were also free concerts which included some pretty big names located right downtown. All in all, it made for an awesome weekend. Several drinks were had, and I'm still trying to get caught up on sleep. Despite all the money spent and the disappointing end Monday night, beating Kentucky made it all worth it .

Life Is Good

Like most people, you probably spent this past weekend giving thanks and maxing on food. If you live in Wisconsin and are a sports fan, however, you've had many reasons to be thankful lately.

• The Badgers are back in the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis. After a rough start to the season, this team is rolling right now. They won the Axe for the 11th straight year against a Minnesota team which played tougher than I expected. Joel Stave probably played the best game of his career so far, and picked up the offense awhile the run game took some time to get going. Next up is a matchup against Ohio State. The Buckeyes have been pretty dominant ever since losing to Virginia Tech (that loss is just as much of a head-scratcher as the Badgers' loss to Northwestern). This game as very winnable, however, and the Badgers are even listed as early 3-point favorites. This is because the Buckeyes' Heisman candidate, J.T. Barrett is now out for the season after getting injured vs. Michigan last week. The Badgers will still have to play a great game to win, Ohio State still has good skill players on offense and Cardale Jones, the third-string QB stepping in, can also run a little and is even bigger than Barrett. The tackling will have to be good all game long for the Badgers. Early in the Minnesota game, the tackling was poor and Minnesota was able to jump ahead 17-3 because of it. Melvin Gordon has a chance to make a Heisman statement in Indy, and if he puts up big numbers I like the Badgers' chances to win this game. Winning the Big Ten likely won't be enough to get the Badgers in the playoff, but it should put them in a very good New Years bowl game. 
• The Packers just beat the team everyone was saying was the best in the NFL, New England. It was great to see the defense show up to play on Sunday. I was expecting this game to be more of a shootout than it was. Many times in this game the Packers were forced to kick field goals in the red zone, and I thought that might cost them the game in the end. But the defense showed up when it mattered. With the Patriots driving late in the 4th quarter, the 3rd-down sandwich sack of Brady was the play that stood out the most. Nothing came easy for New England's offense, which is good to see after some poor efforts earlier in the year against good offenses. Now the Packers are in the drivers seat for home-field advantage in the NFC. If the road to the Super Bowl has to go through Lambeau, I like the Packers chances to make it to Arizona in February given how well they've played at home. 
• The Badgers' basketball team also had a good week, winning the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas. It was good to see this team respond to getting tested, and they overcame a 9-point deficit to beat a good Georgetown team in the semis. In the finals they didn't get the expected matchup against North Carolina due to them getting upset by Butler, but the Badgers still looked impressive against a solid Oklahoma team. A pleasant surprise so far this year has been how well Duje Dukan has played, his 3 point shooting has been great and he almost could've been considered for tournament MVP. Next up for the Badgers is one of the biggest home games in a while against Duke on Wednesday night. Their center Okafor has been a beast so far this year, so Frank Kaminsky is gonna have to try to stay out of foul trouble in this one. The Kohl Center should be loud and this should be a fun one to watch. 
• I don't usually watch much of the NBA regular season, but I'll have to admit that the Bucks have been fun to watch so far this year. They already have 2/3 of their win total from last season, and Jason Kidd might just coach this team to a playoff spot if they can keep this up. I also wish I could've been in Vegas to bet the over on the Bucks win total, which was at only 24, which they should surpass easily.

So with all that going on, enjoy it.With the holiday season in full swing right now, simply put, it's a great time of year right now. It's even better here in Wisconsin.  (Except for the cold weather. But we're used to that.)

Preview Time! Badger Basketball and Gordon vs Abdullah

Its a good weekend to be a Badger fan. Not only is the highly anticipated football matchup with Nebraska finally here, the #3 ranked Badger basketball season gets underway tonight. The game itself shouldn't be much of a contest, against Northern Kentucky, but one thing that would make it worth attending is the raising of the Final Four banner for last season. This year's squad has the talent to make another run, and should be fun to watch all year. Here's my preview for the 2014-15 season, as well as a look at the important football game at Camp Randall this Saturday.

• One of the main reasons this team is so highly ranked to start the season is that they only lost 1 key player from last year's team, Evan Anderson. I mean, Ben Brust. Bronson Koening finished the year strong and should be able to fill the void left by Brust. 
• With this team, I have a feeling they will be using more 2- guard lineups than the 3-guard starting lineups that were common last year. The 3 big guys Sam Dekker, Frank Kaminsky, and Nigel Hayes are too talented to leave off the floor for long periods of time. There will always be situations that will call for a 3 guard lineup, but right now I'm predicting the most common lineup will be Traevon Jackson, Josh Gasser, Dekker, Hayes, and Kaminsky. 

• I think Duje Dukan will be a major contributor this year. He improved as last season went on, and made some big shots in the Final Four game. It will be interesting to see what other bench players will get significant minutes. Some players to keep an eye out for, especially in many of these early season non-conference games which should likely be blowouts, are Vitto Brown and Zak Showalter. 
• There are some non-conference games that will be tough tests. The one that obviously stands out is the Dec. 3rd ACC/Big 10 challenge game against Duke at the Kohl Center. Their freshman center Jahlil Okafor is being heavily hyped, so we'll see how he matches up with Kaminsky. This would be a huge win and could help the Badgers' case for  1 seed in March. Also, Thanksgiving week the Badgers travel to the Bahamas to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, which is filled with quality teams. The Badgers' first game is against UAB, but advancing in the tournament would mean potential matchups against Florida, Georgetown, UCLA, Oklahoma, or North Carolina. Pretty stacked field. 
• The Badgers are the consensus favorite to win the Big Ten. The league will be tough as always, but maybe not quite as tough as in the past. Teams like Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State lost some key players that they will have to replace. 
• In the end, if everyone stays healthy, the Badgers should win the Big Ten and compete for a #1 seed. As any college basketball fan knows, however, that doesn't guarantee a Final Four appearance. Anything can happen in March. Let's just hope the Badgers have a little more magic in them this season. 

                                           Who's Gonna Win the West?

           The football Badgers finally face a ranked opponent this weekend, #16 Nebraska. It's the first ranked team the Badgers have played since the opener against LSU. The way I see it, this game will decide who wins the the Big Ten West. Although Minnesota has been somewhat of a surprise and is tied atop the division, I don't see them as a legitimate contender (They have a chance to prove me wrong, but good luck doing it against Ohio State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin 3 weeks in a row). So, this game is pretty much a must-win for both teams. The winner pretty much would give themselves a 2-game lead over the loser, and with 3 weeks left to go, well, you get the point. The winner of this game will be going to Indy to face Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game. 

          The Badger defense has played well over the course of the season, but really hasn't faced an offense as good as Nebraska's yet. A key factor in deciding how good their offense will be this Saturday is the health of Ameer Abdullah. In Nebraska's last game, Abdullah left with an injury early in the game after only gaining one yard. That has calmed some of the Heisman talk for Abdullah, but he will still likely be ready to play this Saturday. This game is seen as a showdown between two Heisman candidates who are two of the top running backs in the country. If Melvin Gordon wants a shot at the Heisman, he is gonna need to outshine Abdullah on Saturday. Gordon has needed a showcase game after missing most of the 2nd half against LSU. This is his chance (Finally NOT an 11 AM kickoff at Camp Randall, BTW). He's gonna need to put up big numbers to at least earn a spot in New York for the ceremony. 

           This will also be a test for the new two-quarterback system. It has worked so far, but now Stave and McEvoy will be facing a much better defense than they have so far since they began to share snaps. Last week against Purdue, the QBs were also being interchanged mid-drive, which was something new and can benefit the offense, as each QB has different strengths for different situations. I just hope against a better defense like Nebraska the offense doesn't become too predictable when a certain QB is on the field. 

            I believe the home-field advantage in this game will help, but I don't see this game being a rout like the last time the Huskers visited Camp Randall or met the Badgers in Indianapolis. I think both Gordon and Abdullah will have big games, and whichever team's quarterbacks can avoid making the big mistake will get the win and the drivers seat to Indianapolis. 

            

Your Saturday Gameplan

If you're a college football fan, this Saturday you should either be prepared to a) not leave your couch all day or b) post up at a bar all day (If you're actually going to a game that's also acceptable). This weekend is about as good as it gets for a football fan. There's 6 games in which ranked teams face each other, and we may know a little more about how the playoff picture might look by the time Saturday is over.
The day does start a little slow, but the Badgers are playing Purdue at 11 so that game will have my full attention. Also, #12 Baylor and #15 Oklahoma are playing at the same time and there should be a lot of points scored in that one.
Next, the 2:30 slot may not have all of the best games of the day like usual, but #10 Notre Dame vs #9 Arizona State is an important game which will eliminate the loser from playoff contention. There's also some upset possibilities with Texas A&M-Auburn and West Virginia-Texas playing in the afternoon.
At night, a bar is probably gonna be the best place to be, as you're gonna need to keep your eyes on multiple tvs. First, #7 Kansas State plays #6 TCU in what is likely the most important game of the year in the Big 12. Shortly after that, Alabama travels to Baton Rouge to take on an improving LSU team, which is always tough to beat at home. At the same time, the game the Big Ten has been waiting for all year also kicks off. Ohio State and Michigan State will play in a game which will decide the division winner and also may keep playoff hopes alive for the winner.
As a nightcap, Oregon also travels to surprising Utah in what will likely be their last real test of the regular season.
Here in Wisconsin, it's getting cold. The cold weather and great schedule of games this weekend provide you with the perfect excuse to not leave the couch or barstool all day. Get your friends over, grab a case of beer or five, and enjoy the day.

NFL Midseason Thoughts

We're about halfway through the NFL season, and I still don't know what to make of most of the teams in the league. Just about anybody can beat anyone on a given day. The only thing I know for sure is that the Raiders, Jaguars, Bucs, and Jets will be competing for the #1 pick in the draft. Here's some other random thoughts about this season at the midway point.

• At 7-1, Arizona surprisingly is sitting with the best record in the league, thanks to a great defense who has continued to play well despite some preseason injury losses. The offense does enough to get the job done. We'll find out more about them as they have tough games remaining against Detroit, San Francisco, and two against Seattle.
• After watching them get destroyed against the Chiefs on a Monday night game, I thought this year might actually be the beginning of the downfall of the Patriots. Turns out I was wrong. Tom Brady has gotten things figured out with his receivers, and the offense is rolling. He's probably the leader in the MVP race right now. 
• Also, before the season I would have said the AFC East was a contender for the worst division in football.Now, its not so bad. Both Buffalo and Miami, who are each sitting at 5-3, have a good chance to make the playoffs thanks to strong defenses and improved quarterback play. (Getting to play the Jets twice also helps) 
• Both South divisions are terrible. Indy will easily win the AFC South, while the NFC South will come down to two very average teams in the Saints and Panthers. I wouldn't be surprised if 8-8 won that division. 
• There will be a very good team left out of the playoffs in the NFC. Division races in the East, North, and West should be competitive throughout the rest of the season. That will leave 4 teams fighting for 2 wild card spots. The East is between Philly and Dallas, who now both have QB injury concerns, the North is between the Packers and Lions, and there could be a lot on the line when they meet in week 17. 3 teams still have a shot in the West, although the 49ers will have to figure out things soon if they want a shot at the playoffs. 
• I'll be interested to see if the Bears continue their freefall. They should have one of the most explosive offenses in the league, but turnovers continue to be an issue with Jay Cutler. If things don't turn around, I could see Trestman out as coach. I can't see them getting rid of Cutler because of his contract. As a Packer fan, I'm fine with that. Cutler loves to throw the ball to Packer DBs. 
• The Packers' defense is going to have to force turnovers when it faces good teams. They have looked okay against average offenses like the Panthers. But whenever they go up against a good offense, it seems like the gameplan is to just hope Aaron Rodgers can outscore the other team. They just can't stop anyone who's good. Example: last game against New Orleans. The Patriots come to Lambeau later this month,and I think the Packers will have to put up at least 45 to win that game. If the defense doesn't improve, I can't see them making a deep playoff run. 
• I'll admit I didn't think we'd make it to November and Johnny Football wouldn't be the starter for Cleveland. But Brian Hoyer has done a good enough job and has the Browns at 5-3 and in contention for a playoff spot. They somehow are finding ways to win. 
• JJ Watt probably won't get the MVP, but he is making a case. He's had one of the best defensive seasons so far that I've ever seen. It's too bad he's stuck on a Texans team that doesn't have a starting-caliber quarterback. 
• Seattle has been a bit of a surprise. After week 1, I thought they looked unbeatable. Since then, they have been less than impressive. They're still in good shape at 5-3, but some offseason losses are having a bigger impact than we may have expected. 
• I'm getting sick of how many flags are called every game. It's becoming almost impossible to play defensive back in the NFL anymore. 

                                              Playoff Picks Sure to be Wrong

AFC: East: Patriots                                         NFC: East: Cowboys
          North: Bengals                                               North: Packers
          South: Colts                                                    South: Saints
          West: Broncos                                                West: Cardinals
          WC: Dolphins                                                  WC: Seahawks
          WC: Steelers                                                   WC: Lions

AFC Champ: Patriots over Broncos               NFC Champ: Cardinals over Cowboys

                                       Super Bowl: Patriots over Cardinals